Trail 14: Ironwood Trail (North Part)

03/07/2012.  10:05 AM.

Start:  GPS N 35, 51.354, W 78, 39.687
End:   GPS N 35, 50.912, W 78, 39.787

Access to this trail is from the same parking lot in the 900 block of W Millbrook Road that was used to access the Shelley Lake Trail (East Side) last outing. The lot is on the north side of the street. Take the entrance from the east end of the parking lot and immediately turn right. The trail is marked. If you continue straight, you will end up on the Shelley Lake Trail instead.

The morning was sunny and clear with temperatures starting out in the mid-40s Fahrenheit. I did not see any birds in the parking lot this time around, but as soon as I passed under W Millbrook Road the bird activity was excellent. There were only a few people on the trail this day, but the light foot traffic and near absence of bicycles might have been because this was a Wednesday morning and not a Saturday.  

There are not many natural dividers along this trail until you come to the intersection of two access trails where I decided to stop for the day. In this entry, I will report on the birds I sighted on the trail itself, and along the relatively long accessway that leads to North Hills Drive. This accessway runs along the creek for most of its distance, and is nicely wooded on both sides. If I were to choose an access point for this intersection area, I would probably come from North Hills Drive (address 5105 is nearby). The other option is a long accessway from Stannard Trail, but this is more residential and the path leading to the Greenway is not nearly as pleasant.

Birds Sighted from Trailhead to Intersection with North Hills and Stannard Trail Accessways:

Mallard:  GPS N 35, 51.340, W 78, 39.669. A male and female swimming in the creek.

Northern Cardinal:  GPS N 35, 51.317, W 78, 39.701. This male was singing away from an open branch.

Yellow Rumped Warbler:  I don't know if the season just happens to be right for these, or if this area of the Raleigh Greenway system just has a large number of these birds, but I saw these more times along this stretch of trail than along any other I have walked so far in the Capital Area Greenway system. In fact, they were probably my most frequently seen bird on this outing.

Eastern Towhee:  Female. She settled herself down in some dense brush almost as though she had a nest in there. Might be too early for that, but I have not found these birds to be terribly shy about moving around when birders are nearby, and yet this one stayed completely still, with her body down on the ground.

Carolina Wren:  GPS N 35, 51.310, W 78, 39.717.

Mourning Dove:  Alone on a low branch next to the creek.

White Breasted Nuthatch:  Two moving around together.

Carolina Chickadee: Maybe the most ubiquitous bird in the city.

Pine Warbler: Last week I thought I had seen one of these but wasn't positive. This week I knew what to look for and got a good look at one. Just one. The first part of the Ironwood Trail has a line of pine trees along the west side of the trail, which is probably what attracted this one. It is a new bird for the Capital Area Greenway List and for my lifelist as well.

Tufted Titmouse:  GPS N 35, 51.311, W 78, 39.757.

Probable Common Grackle:  I saw three of these at quite a distance. I didn't get the greatest view of them, but I did notice one of them spread its tail feathers and then relax them two or three times. I cannot be sure of my identification on this one, so will not count it for the day. There are times when I wish I owned a spotting scope. This was one of those times.

American Robin:  GPS N 35, 51.255, W 78, 39.810.

American Crow:  Not very numerous here.

Red Shouldered Hawk:  GPS N 35, 51.204, W 78, 39.843. Saw it perched for a brief time, then in flight. Saw it perched again on the return trip.

Red Bellied Woodpecker:  GPS N 35, 51.156, W 78, 51.157. This was a male and it seemed that he might have been just starting a new nest hole.

Downy/Hairy Woodpecker:  Got only the briefest of looks and did not have enough time to distinguish between the two species.

Ruby Crowned Kinglet:  GPS N 35, 51.021, W 78, 39.849.

Eastern Phoebe:  Saw this one "hawking" for insects. This is a new bird for both the Capital Area Greenway List and my lifelist.

Canada Goose: Saw three of these flying overhead in the direction of Shelley Lake.

There is another accessway to the Ironwood Trail that joins the trail a short distance from the intersection where I ended for the day.  It intersects the trail at GPS N 35, 51.009, W 78, 39.840. Based on the map, this accessway probably leads to Carter Street.

Birds Sighted Along Accessway from Intersection (see photo) to North Hills Drive Entrance:

Blue Jay:  N 35, 50.894, W 78, 39.661.

Red Tailed Hawk:  Saw it both perched and in flight. Today was the first day that I saw two hawk species in one outing.



New Species Sighted on Return Trip:

Yellow Bellied Sapsucker:  GPS N 35, 51.174, W 78, 39.856. I saw one of these and heard a second one calling back and forth with the one I spotted.

I saw a total of 20 species on this outing not including the probable Common Grackle or the Hairy/Downy Woodpecker. I added two new birds to my lifelist today, bringing the total to 311, and two new birds to the Capital Area Greenway List for a total of 47 species so far.